The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-11-18
Newly Elected Officers Of Crystal
Lodge I, o, of G., T..

d Lodge I. o. of q. T..
f. The following officers were install
ed by Mr.. Mount E. Kirk, Lode
Deputy, on Wednesday night of Las
>, week.
!, G. T., J. T. Mccullough; V. G
=, Clara K. Wilson; r. S., John M
Campbell; A. R. s, Hannah Rey
nolds; F. S.. Lewis R. Kirk, Jr.; I
Samuel A. Taylor; G., Mary Conner
M, John l.. Stephens; D. NJ, Ev'
Pagan; G., Mable Reynolds; S., Ed
F. Brown; r. Fl. S., Mrs. S. r. Kim
bell; l.. II. S. Sallie R Barnes; p. G
T., George NJ. Keilholtz.
The Lodge also elected Delegates
to the Grand Lodge which meets in
Frederick City, and Trustees for the
ensuing year.
A New Road System Proposed by
the Deer Creek Farmers Club.
The following is synopsis of the
plan proposed by the Club as pub
lished in the Hartford papers.
The new plan provides that three
rord commissioners shall be elected
by the people, this board to appoint
county engineer. The latter to be
a person skilled in all the details
OF laying out, constructing and re-
pairing roads, and to be answerable
to the road board for the manner in
which his duties are performed and
generally to see that road and bridge
contracts are performed faithfully
and the public roads mended judic-
iously. The road board is to desig.
nate the persons to whom road war
rants are to be given and to exercise
a general oversight over all matters
pertaining to the public roads. The
levying of the road money is to be
left. as now entirely with the. County
Commissioners, who can thereby
hold the purse-strings against any
extravaganza or mismanagement of
the road funds. 1t was the opinion
of the members of the club that the
new plan proposed an important
and salutary change in our road sys-
tom, by which its efficiency can be
increased without necessarily lncreas-
ing its cost. The only person who
could possibly object would be the
County Commissioners, since it takes
out of their hands the appointment
of road supervisors, but this is
small matter compared with the
good of an entire community.
The report of the committee is to
be submitted to the other farmers
clubs OF the county, and if approved
by them and by the public generally
an effort will be made to secure the
necessary legislation to carry it into
effect.
This plan is looking toyards an
an Improvement Of old systems, at
least, and we congratulate the pull
lie spirit of the Deer Creek Club for
graphing with this evil. If farmers
would form associations and discuss
their wants, they would readily de-
wise means for relief of many of their
burthens and public annoyances.
For .years-aye a lifetime-they
have been groaning under this an
noyance, and this move of the Har-
ford Club is the first concerted effort
that has been made by them to i'm
prove on old methods, $3.50.
The plan proposed, while it would
be an improvement has some serious
objections. To look after all the
roads,-many of them no better than
by-ways-in Hartford County is more
than three Commissioners. granting
the assistance of a civil engineer,
can properly accomplish. The v
would be- handicapped by the County
Commissioners, who being freed
from directresponsibility, would cur
tail and withhold the necessary funds
to execute work properly that had
been planned. In short there would
be sure to be chronic conflict be-
tween the two authorities, which
would cripple the system from the
start. There are other objections,
and serious ones, to this plan.